03-04-2019, 04:56 PM
"Thank you, Lucinda." I replied. "But that book you're so fond of is pretty clear on what happens when you accept gifts from snakes."
The smile that got from her was one I've seen on Sue's, and therefore, my, face before. The smile of respect gained for standing up to someone. She was conceding for the moment.
"I have somewhere else to be. I shall see you there, Sue." She said the name experimentally. I'd gotten a rise out of her, so she wanted to see if calling me something other than Susan would get a rise out of me. Fortunately, she picked the right one.
"You know, something, Lucinda? I've always preferred Susan. I don't 'do' nicknames. But I think I like the idea of you calling me Sue. Just you, Lucinda. Nobody else. See you there."
Lucinda walked off quickly, trying not to look like she was storming, however, was still in a hurry. I whistled "Sunny Afternoon" by The Kinks as she departed. It's just always struck me as a good "pulling a caper" song. Once she was out of sight, I switched the sign for the Reception for La Familia with another and pressed a button on the cart.
* * *
The other feature of Jeanne's cart was coming in handy for this part of the plan. Helen is a runner. Most of her childhood was spent running from her biological father or the security officer, so she's good at it. With all the smoking she does, I don't think she could represent San Finzione in the Olympics, but she's had as much experience as any professional athlete. Jeanne often has to keep up with her around the castle while pushing a cart full of beverages and appliances. Again, Castle Finzione is a big place, and Helen's not a cruel boss; she doesn't expect Jeanne to be able to keep up her pace or have to push this thing around by herself while she does it. That's why, when the button I pushed gets pushed, a little stand pops out of the cart, Jeanne gets on, and the electric motor activates. It handles like one of those mobility scooters and can get up to about 25 miles an hour if the halls are clear, like just after a shift change. Although I'm not sure if Helen can run that fast or not, Jeanne's able to keep pace with her, and the motor is also quiet enough to not interfere with conversation.
This is how I was able to replace all the signs for the reception with the new ones we got from the Print Shop right before they closed for the day behind Lucinda as she went along and get to the Banquet Hall in time for her entrance.
Just outside the Banquet Hall, Maria intercepted Lucinda for a couple of minutes as well to buy me that time.
"This is Lucinda's show." I'd explained earlier. "She's not going to be late or early to it, she's going to shoot for being precisely on time to make her entrance, because that's what a Contessa would do. They all know she's responsible for the free meal; or if they don't, she'll make certain they learn first thing, so she won't make a beeline for Helen to give her gift, but we still need to delay her entrance a couple of minutes. I'll have a 'run-in' with her on her way here. Maria, if you can arrange another, a minute more can't hurt."
I found Jeanne by the head of one of the tables by the buffet sideboards that had been set up. Servants stood by, ready for the clock to strike seven to uncover the chafing dishes. I knew that making them wait until you were damn good and ready to serve them was a tactic that Helen used to keep them in line. Something Helen had said about them before was "These people care about two things: Filling their stomachs and filling their pockets; both preferably on your dime." She had the twins in a double-stroller. They were napping. The nannies had put little hats and baby sunglasses on them for the bright lights of the hall. They looked like this wasn't their first party tonight, and they probably had another one to go to after this, so better rest up for it. I was about to ask Jeanne where Rita was when I caught the smell of Helen's cigarettes and looked for the smoke, instead. (The Banquet Hall is big enough that we weren't overly concerned about smoke and the babies. A little fan on top of the stroller was gently blowing in case any trailed their direction.)
Contessa Helena de San Finzione, or at least, a reasonable facsimile thereof, stood talking to two men. I didn't know their names, and I was reasonably sure that Rita didn't either, but we'd thought of that earlier, too.
"Helen probably doesn't really know all of their names." I'd said. "Or, since it's Helen, she probably DOES know all of their names, but she'll selectively forget to remind them how little she thinks of them. We can use that to our advantage. If someone tries to corner you about 'that thing we talked about last month,' Helen would pretend not to remember and make them re-tell the whole thing, so knowing who's who is easily bluffed."
The smile that got from her was one I've seen on Sue's, and therefore, my, face before. The smile of respect gained for standing up to someone. She was conceding for the moment.
"I have somewhere else to be. I shall see you there, Sue." She said the name experimentally. I'd gotten a rise out of her, so she wanted to see if calling me something other than Susan would get a rise out of me. Fortunately, she picked the right one.
"You know, something, Lucinda? I've always preferred Susan. I don't 'do' nicknames. But I think I like the idea of you calling me Sue. Just you, Lucinda. Nobody else. See you there."
Lucinda walked off quickly, trying not to look like she was storming, however, was still in a hurry. I whistled "Sunny Afternoon" by The Kinks as she departed. It's just always struck me as a good "pulling a caper" song. Once she was out of sight, I switched the sign for the Reception for La Familia with another and pressed a button on the cart.
* * *
The other feature of Jeanne's cart was coming in handy for this part of the plan. Helen is a runner. Most of her childhood was spent running from her biological father or the security officer, so she's good at it. With all the smoking she does, I don't think she could represent San Finzione in the Olympics, but she's had as much experience as any professional athlete. Jeanne often has to keep up with her around the castle while pushing a cart full of beverages and appliances. Again, Castle Finzione is a big place, and Helen's not a cruel boss; she doesn't expect Jeanne to be able to keep up her pace or have to push this thing around by herself while she does it. That's why, when the button I pushed gets pushed, a little stand pops out of the cart, Jeanne gets on, and the electric motor activates. It handles like one of those mobility scooters and can get up to about 25 miles an hour if the halls are clear, like just after a shift change. Although I'm not sure if Helen can run that fast or not, Jeanne's able to keep pace with her, and the motor is also quiet enough to not interfere with conversation.
This is how I was able to replace all the signs for the reception with the new ones we got from the Print Shop right before they closed for the day behind Lucinda as she went along and get to the Banquet Hall in time for her entrance.
Just outside the Banquet Hall, Maria intercepted Lucinda for a couple of minutes as well to buy me that time.
"This is Lucinda's show." I'd explained earlier. "She's not going to be late or early to it, she's going to shoot for being precisely on time to make her entrance, because that's what a Contessa would do. They all know she's responsible for the free meal; or if they don't, she'll make certain they learn first thing, so she won't make a beeline for Helen to give her gift, but we still need to delay her entrance a couple of minutes. I'll have a 'run-in' with her on her way here. Maria, if you can arrange another, a minute more can't hurt."
I found Jeanne by the head of one of the tables by the buffet sideboards that had been set up. Servants stood by, ready for the clock to strike seven to uncover the chafing dishes. I knew that making them wait until you were damn good and ready to serve them was a tactic that Helen used to keep them in line. Something Helen had said about them before was "These people care about two things: Filling their stomachs and filling their pockets; both preferably on your dime." She had the twins in a double-stroller. They were napping. The nannies had put little hats and baby sunglasses on them for the bright lights of the hall. They looked like this wasn't their first party tonight, and they probably had another one to go to after this, so better rest up for it. I was about to ask Jeanne where Rita was when I caught the smell of Helen's cigarettes and looked for the smoke, instead. (The Banquet Hall is big enough that we weren't overly concerned about smoke and the babies. A little fan on top of the stroller was gently blowing in case any trailed their direction.)
Contessa Helena de San Finzione, or at least, a reasonable facsimile thereof, stood talking to two men. I didn't know their names, and I was reasonably sure that Rita didn't either, but we'd thought of that earlier, too.
"Helen probably doesn't really know all of their names." I'd said. "Or, since it's Helen, she probably DOES know all of their names, but she'll selectively forget to remind them how little she thinks of them. We can use that to our advantage. If someone tries to corner you about 'that thing we talked about last month,' Helen would pretend not to remember and make them re-tell the whole thing, so knowing who's who is easily bluffed."
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